This morning my son, who soon will be making his decision on where to go to college, said to me, "I just read an article on the colleges that are the BEST RETURN on INVESTMENT."
I didn't know why, but immediately I felt myself tighten up.
NO, not because of the long standing fear of having to pay for college
(I am past the fear part),
But
because the thought in my head was
WHO CARES?
I was grateful for my son making conversation,
But something about the topic was eating away at me.
We had a good discussion and we uncovered the reason for my rejection of the article.
It's a way to get "eyeballs". It's one more way that a magazine figures out to sell more copies… but WHO CARES?
They probably get the average tuition from students and the average starting salary and they create a rate of return.
Sure, its ONE point of data, but I asked my son, how much do you think Mark Zuckerberg, or Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs considered rate of return on their college decision? I rattled off various names of people we know from our life that are very happy and successful.... and it was clear there was no correlation...
It's COURAGE and INITIATIVE more than RESEARCH and ANALYSIS that sets our journey in the greatest possible direction. I am convinced of that.
Clearly those are people who achieved massive success and the ones we know are living great lives..
But my message to him was, don't set your sites on averages - even subconsciously... REJECT THEM, don't make your decisions on averages, because averages are the boiled down NOTHINGNESS of data.
I was taken back by how viscerally I reacted to the whole concept. He looked at me and smiled. I think he is getting used to my over-dramatization of some of these topics... and he is listening carefully. I love him for that.
I say all of this – and sure I use AVERAGES here and there. There is SOME use to them… but it's truly fairly minimal.
I am a MUCH bigger fan of RANGES.
Chances are the ranges are ALL about the SAME!
Some people get out of school without a job, and some people get out of school and make millions in a few years.
So, the AVERAGES for School A is $5,000 higher per year than School B… WHO CARES?
The range is the same… some people fail out of school, some people don't get employed and some people just KILL IT!
I know my son is a smart kid and he is ambitious and he is motivated, in so many ways so much more than I ever was at his age. And, he is confident in many ways that matter.
I know he will do well… and I know that my knee-jerk reaction to his mention of the article was partly misplaced… but I want him to realize that those things are ways that magazines get eyeballs, and often paid for by the PR budgets of the Universities that know they will end up high on the list so that they get more people applying.
I have never wanted to be average.
I like RANGES… Ranges are much more telling… they tell us the universe of possibilities..
AND IMPORTANTLY THEY are much more telling about WHAT variables and data REALLY MATTER.
RANGES tell us with much greater certainty what process is truly better (remember your stats and quality control courses from the 1980s and 1990s)?
Also, IMPORTANTLY, averages set our expectation to average.
Whatever it may be… quality control measures, timeliness, compensation, number of push ups, expense ranges… ANYTHING…
The average is one dimensional and a boiled down point of data that tells us very close to NOTHING.
BE UNIQUE!
CREATE YOUR OWN STANDARD OF MEASURE!
And, in the example above, as I told my son, WHO CARES how much you make on your first job out of school. I would argue that salary is the LEAST important aspect of your first job out of school. You should be looking for a job that is going to teach you aggressively, that is going to put you on the biggest platform that you can be on, that you are passionate about, that will allow you to grow and gives you the best chance of developing your potential and developing your dream.
Be careful with what you read…
Make sure that it EXPANDS who you are and what you dream about… and doesn't limit it.
Know the source and the intent of the material…
And, turn your back on AVERAGES…
FOLLOW YOUR PASSION and your HEART,
BLAZE YOUR OWN PATH,
SET YOUR OWN STANDARDS…
Specially in the mind of an 18 year old, but in all of our minds…
I have always rejected averages viscerally…
Look for RANGES…
And, then look away into the distance and deep into your soul…
AND UNLEASH YOURSELF UPON THE WORLD!
When you invest your heart and mind you can't help but get the greatest return,
And I would argue, ain't NO magazine gonna publish the results of that equation ;-)
SET YOURSELF FREE!
Yours in FEISTY Harmony!
Nestor